Network-connected access point with environmental sensor, and related components, systems, and methods

ABSTRACT

A network-connected access point is disclosed having a network access transceiver configured to provide access to a network for computing devices in communication therewith. The network access point also comprises one or more environmental sensors each configured to determine at least one environmental characteristic value that quantifies an environmental characteristic at a location distant from the network access point. Without limitation, environmental characteristics include temperature, humidity, sound, light, motion, and air quality, The network access point further comprises a sensor controller in communication with the at least one environmental sensor. The sensor controller may be separate from the network access transceiver, or may be part of the same component. The sensor controller is configured to receive the at least one environmental characteristic value from the at least one environmental sensor, and transmit information based on the at least one environmental characteristic value to a network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/812,290, filed Jul. 29, 2015, now U.S. patent Ser. No.______, which is incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety.

This application is related to “NETWORK-CONNECTED LIGHTING STRUCTUREWITH CLIMATE SENSOR, AND RELATED COMPONENTS, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS,”(application Ser. No. 14/812,203) filed on Jul. 29, 2015, now U.S. Pat.No. 9,497,830, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

This application is related to “NETWORK-CONNECTED SEMI-FIXED LOCATIONTELEPHONE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL SENSOR, AND RELATED COMPONENTS, SYSTEMS,AND METHODS,” (application Ser. No. 14/812,348), filed on Jul. 29, 2015,the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure is related to an access point, and more specifically toa network-connected access point with an environmental sensor, andrelated components, systems, and methods.

BACKGROUND

As wireless networks and internet access becomes more commonplace andubiquitous, network connectivity is now being added to a variety ofdifferent devices, including those devices not commonly associated withcomputing applications. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the“Internet of Things” (IoT). For many widely deployed devices, thesenewly added network functions enhance and extend their mainfunctionality. For example, a network-connected thermostat may enableremote control and monitoring of temperature characteristics in adwelling or other structure. However, this connectivity also permitsadditional functionality that may not be directly related to thedevice's primary functionality, or that may interact with the device'sprimary functionality in unexpected ways.

SUMMARY

Embodiments include a network-connected access point with anenvironmental sensor, and related components, systems, and methods. Inone embodiment, a network-connected access point comprises one or moreradio frequency (RF) transceivers with an associated processor andmemory that control data transmissions, and an interface to a networkconfigured to provide access to a first network for computing devices incommunication therewith. The network-connected access point alsocomprises one or more environmental sensors each configured to determineat least one environmental characteristic value that quantifies anenvironmental characteristic at a location distant from thenetwork-connected access point. Without limitation, environmentalcharacteristics include temperature, humidity, sound, light, motion, andair quality. The network-connected access point further comprises asensor controller in communication with the at least one environmentalsensor. The sensor controller may be separate from the controller withinthe network-connected access point that controls data transmissions, ormay be part of the same component. The sensor controller is configuredto receive the at least one environmental characteristic value from theat least one environmental sensor, and transmit information based on theat least one environmental characteristic value to a second network,which can be the same as the first network, or can be a differentnetwork. One advantage of this arrangement is that a number of accesspoints within a building can gather individual data points relating toone or more environmental characteristics within a defined area, such asa shared space in an office building or a climate-monitored space withina warehouse. Because each access point is stationary with a known (orknowable) location, the individual data points can be used to determineenvironmental properties of different sub-areas within the defined area.This also has the advantage of providing additional functionality to theaccess point that is separate from the primary function of the accesspoint, and that leverages the distributed locations of the access pointsto provide these new functions.

According to one embodiment, a network-connected access point isdisclosed. The network-connected access point comprises a networktransceiver configured to provide access to a first network for one ormore computing devices in communication with the network transceiver.The network-connected access point further comprises at least oneenvironmental sensor configured to determine at least one environmentalcharacteristic value that quantifies an environmental characteristic ata location outside the network-connected access point. Thenetwork-connected access point further comprises a sensor controller incommunication with the at least one environmental sensor. The sensorcontroller is configured to receive the at least one environmentalcharacteristic value from the at least one environmental sensor. Thesensor controller is further configured to transmit information based onthe at least one environmental characteristic value to a second network.

According to another embodiment, a network-connected access point systemis disclosed. The system comprises a system controller. The systemfurther comprises a plurality of access points in communication with thesystem controller via a system network. Each access point comprises anetwork transceiver configured to provide access to a data network forone or more computing devices in communication with the networktransceiver. Each access point further comprises at least oneenvironmental sensor configured to determine at least one environmentalcharacteristic value that quantifies an environmental characteristic ata location outside the network-connected access point. Each access pointfurther comprises a sensor controller in communication with the at leastone environmental sensor. The sensor controller is configured to receivethe at least one environmental characteristic value from the at leastone environmental sensor. The sensor controller is further configured totransmit information based on the at least one environmentalcharacteristic value to the system controller via the system network.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate the scope of the disclosure andrealize additional aspects thereof after reading the following detaileddescription of the embodiments in association with the accompanyingdrawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part ofthis specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of thedisclosure.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a network connected accesspoint according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of a network connected lightingsystem for a multi-story structure employing the access points of FIG. 1according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of a floor plan having an arrayof access points of FIG. 1 according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of a network connected accesspoint according to an alternative embodiment; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a network connected access pointaccording to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments set forth below represent the information to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate thebest mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the followingdescription in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilledin the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and willrecognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressedherein. It should be understood that these concepts and applicationsfall within the scope of the disclosure and the accompanying claims.

Any flowcharts discussed herein are necessarily discussed in somesequence for purposes of illustration, but unless otherwise explicitlyindicated, the embodiments are not limited to any particular sequence ofsteps. The use herein of ordinals in conjunction with an element issolely for distinguishing what might otherwise be similar or identicallabels, such as “first configuration” and “second configuration,” anddoes not imply a priority, a type, an importance, or other attribute,unless otherwise stated herein.

Embodiments include a network-connected access point with anenvironmental sensor, and related components, systems, and methods. Inone embodiment, a network-connected access point comprises one or moreradio frequency transceivers with an associated processor and memorythat control data transmissions, and an interface to a networkconfigured to provide access to a first network for computing devices incommunication therewith. The network-connected access point alsocomprises one or more environmental sensors each configured to determineat least one environmental characteristic value that quantifies anenvironmental characteristic at a location distant from thenetwork-connected access point. Without limitation, environmentalcharacteristics include temperature, humidity, sound, light, motion, andair quality. The network-connected access point further comprises asensor controller in communication with the at least one environmentalsensor. The sensor controller may be separate from the controller withinthe network-connected access point that controls data transmissions, ormay be part of the same component. The sensor controller is configuredto receive the at least one environmental characteristic value from theat least one environmental sensor, and transmit information based on theat least one environmental characteristic value to a second network,which can be the same as the first network, or can be a differentnetwork. One advantage of this arrangement is that a number of accesspoints within a building can gather individual data points relating toone or more environmental characteristics within a defined area, such asa shared space in an office building or a climate-monitored space withina warehouse. Because each access point is stationary with a known (orknowable) location, the individual data points can be used to determineenvironmental properties of different sub-areas within the defined area.This also has the advantage of providing additional functionality to theaccess point that is separate from the primary function of the accesspoint, and that leverages the distributed locations of the access pointsto provide these new functions.

An access point may be a device which provides access to a network forone or more computing devices. Such access points include wirelessnetwork routers or switches, wireless access points, repeaters, andother devices that facilitate connection of computing or other devicesto a data or communication network. Many access points are configured tobe attached to a surface of a wall or ceiling, may be suspended, may berecessed from a surface of a wall or ceiling, may be located behind asurface of a wall or ceiling, and may be attached to a track structure.Access points may provide access to a single network, or to a pluralityof networks. Different networks may be associated with a single accesspoint, or multiple access points creating a single larger coverage areafor the network.

In this regard, FIG. 1 illustrates a network-connected access point 10according to an embodiment. The network-connected access point 10comprises a radio component 12 comprising one or more radio frequencytransceivers connected to a network interface unit 13 and controlled bya processor unit 15 configured to provide access to a network 14 for oneor more computing devices (not shown) in communication with the radiocomponent 12. The access point 10 further comprises at least oneenvironmental sensor 16 configured to determine at least oneenvironmental characteristic value that quantifies an environmentalcharacteristic 18 at a location outside the network-connected accesspoint, such as a distant object 20 or an area outside the immediatevicinity of the access point 10. The access point 10 further comprises asensor controller 22 in communication with the at least oneenvironmental sensor 16. The sensor controller 22 is configured toreceive the at least one environmental characteristic value from the atleast one environmental sensor 16, and transmit information based on theat least one environmental characteristic value to the network 14. Inthis embodiment, the information is transmitted on the same network 14as the one used by the network interface unit 13. It should beunderstood, however, that the network interface unit 13 and the sensorcontroller 22 may instead be associated with different networks. Theprocessor unit 15, memory 17, and network interface unit 13 may also bereferred to as a network access transceiver module 19. In thisembodiment, the sensor controller 22 is part of the network accesstransceiver module 19, but it should be understood that the sensorcontroller 22 may be a separate component as well.

In this embodiment as well, the sensor controller 22 is configured todetermine the information based on the at least one environmentalcharacteristic value prior to transmitting the information to thenetwork 14. It should be understood that the information may include theraw environmental characteristic value, and may also include informationderived from the environmental characteristic value.

In this example, the access point 10 is installed on a ceiling 24, andmay be permanently or semi-permanently installed in a known or knowablelocation on or inside a structure. The information to be transmitted tothe network 14 may also include location information corresponding tothe installation location of the access point 10.

In this embodiment, the radio component 12 and the sensor controller 22are disposed in a housing 30. The radio component 12 is also connectedto at least one antenna 26 for facilitating wireless communication 28via one or more radio frequency transceivers within the radio component12 disposed in or in communication with the network interface unit 13.In this example, the environmental sensor 16 is a motion sensor pointedat a distant object 20 within the line-of-sight of the environmentalsensor 16. Here, the environmental sensor 16 is configured to detectmovement corresponding to the environmental characteristic 18, i.e., anobject in motion, such as the distant object 20 in a location within theenvironmental sensor's 16 line of sight.

Other types of environmental sensors include temperature sensorsconfigured to detect infrared radiation corresponding to a temperatureof an object or area. It should be understood that some types oftemperature sensors may be configured to detect infrared radiation in aconical region corresponding to the climate characteristic in a definedarea, such as an area intended to be inhabited or monitored, rather thana climate characteristic of an individual object.

It should also be understood that other types of environmental sensors16 may be used, such as a laser-based temperature sensor, a humiditysensor, an audio sensor, a video sensor, a still or a video camera, orother sensor that is capable of detecting a temperature, humidity,barometric pressure, or other climate characteristic at a location awayfrom the access point 10. For example, an environmental sensor 16 may beconfigured to detect a sonic characteristic, such as a voice or apredetermined sound type, such as breaking glass. An environmentalsensor 16 may also be configured to detect an ambient lightcharacteristic, such as a brightness, a color, an illumination pattern,or a change in a brightness, color or illumination pattern. Theenvironmental sensor 16 may also include a still or video camera in someembodiments. An environmental sensor 16 may also be configured to detectan air quality condition, such as an air visibility level or a presenceof smoke. The environmental sensor 16 may also be configured to detectelectromagnetic radiation, such as ambient radiation or a manmadeelectromagnetic signal. For example, the environmental sensor 16 may beconfigured to detect the presence of an RFID circuit within a detectionrange of the environmental sensor 16.

It should be understood that some types of sensors may be unsuitable foruse with the access point 10. For example, in some embodiments, theenvironmental characteristic 18 may be an ambient climate characteristicthat is distant from the access point 10. This is in contrast to animmediate ambient climate characteristic of the area in the immediatevicinity of the access point 10. In this regard, a temperature gaugethat is configured to monitor an immediate ambient climatecharacteristic of the access point 10 itself or in the immediatevicinity thereof would not be configured to also detect an environmentalcharacteristic 18 at a location away from the access point 10 because anambient temperature of the access point 10 may be significantly higherthan the ambient temperature of a distant object 20 at a remote locationaway from the access point 10.

In this embodiment, the environmental sensor 16 is connected to thecontroller by a wired sensor connection 32, but it should be understoodthat the environmental sensor 16 may alternatively use a wirelesscommunication connection, such as a wireless transmitter, a receiver,and/or a transceiver in other embodiments. Likewise, in this embodiment,the sensor controller 22 is connected to the network 14 via a wirednetwork connection 34, but it should also be understood that theenvironmental sensor 16 may alternatively use a wireless communicationconnection in other embodiments. In this embodiment, the processor unit15 is connected to the network 14 through the network interface unit 13via a wired connection 36, but here again it should be understood thatin other embodiments, the processor unit 15 may be connected directly tothe network 14, via wired or wireless connections as well.

In this embodiment, the environmental sensor 16 is a stationarydirectional motion sensor. It should be understood, however, that othertypes of environmental sensors 16 may be used. For example, theenvironmental sensor 16 may have one or more adjustable parameters, suchas direction, focus, intensity, or other parameters. For example, theenvironmental sensor 16 may have a first configuration configured todetermine at least one environmental value that quantifies anenvironmental characteristic at a first location outside the accesspoint 10, and a second configuration configured to determine at leastone environmental characteristic value that quantifies an environmentalcharacteristic 18 at a second location outside the access point 10. Theparameters may be adjusted manually, remotely, or automatically inresponse to a determined parameter, for example, via the sensorcontroller 22. The connection of the sensor controller 22 to the network14 may also provide for remote discovery, broadcast, provisioning, orreporting of the individual environmental sensors 16 and theirrespective locations. In another example, the sensor controller 22 mayhave connectivity to a building thermostat, such that the sensorcontroller 22 can adjust local temperature settings based on adetermined climate characteristic value from the environmental sensor(s)16. Such connectivity between the sensor controller 22 and buildingthermostat may be through the network interface unit 13 or through theradio component 12.

In this embodiment, the distant object 20 is illustrated as beinglocated remotely from the access point 10. For example, the distantobject 20 may be located on a floor of a structure, or may be part of apiece of furniture in the same room as the access point. Notably, theenvironmental sensor 16 is not configured to detect an environmentalcharacteristic 18 of the access point 10 itself. For example, anelectrical structure, such as the access point 10, may have an internaltemperature or other characteristic significantly different than anenvironmental characteristic 18 of the distant object 20 or the locationbeing measured by the environmental sensor 16. In fact, using theenvironmental sensor 16 configured to detect the environmentalcharacteristic 18 within or in close proximity to the access point 10may not be suitable for determining the environmental characteristic 18of the distant object 20 or the location because the alteredcharacteristic in and around the access point 10 may not accuratelyreflect the actual environmental characteristics 18 within the overallspace in which the access point 10 is installed.

In this embodiment, the access point 10 is configured to be recessedfrom a surface of the ceiling 24, but it should be understood that theaccess point 10 may be installed in other manners, such as attached to asurface of a wall or ceiling, suspended from a surface of a wall orceiling, located behind a surface of a wall or ceiling, or attached to atrack structure, for example.

Because most structures have access points distributed throughout thestructure, it becomes possible to gather detailed and granularinformation about the various climate characteristics within thestructure. In this regard, FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of a multi-storybuilding 38 having a plurality of floors 40(1)-40(3). In thisembodiment, a plurality of access points 10(1)-10(N) are distributedacross the plurality of floors 40(1) and 40(2). Each access point10(1)-10(N) is in communication with a centralized system controller 42,for example, via the respective network interface unit 13 of each accesspoint 10. In this embodiment, each access point 10 is in communicationwith the system controller 42 via a wired controller connection 44. Thesystem controller 42 is connected to a larger network 14, such as theinternet, via a communication channel 46.

It may also be desirable, however, to include wireless functionalitythat is capable of operating as an alternative mechanism forcommunicating with the system controller 42 in addition to providingnetwork access. In this regard, the floor 40(3) of the building 38includes a plurality of alternative access points 48(1)-48(M). In thisembodiment, the internal components of each access point 48 is similarto the internal components of the access point 10 of FIG. 1. In thisembodiment, however, rather than requiring a hard wired connection tothe system controller 42, each access point 48 communicates with thesystem controller 42 via a wireless connection. In this embodiment, forexample, each access point 10 includes a wireless transceiver50(1)-50(N), and each access point 48 also includes a wirelesstransceiver 51(1)-51(M). The wireless transceivers 50(1)-50(N),51(1)-51(M) may be configured to communicate with each other, and toalso communicate with a complementary wireless transceiver 52 in thesystem controller 42.

In this embodiment, the system controller 42 is able to haveconnectivity to all of the access points 10(1)-10(N), 48(1)-48(M)simultaneously, thereby allowing the system controller 42 to determinereal time information with regard to environmental characteristics 18throughout the building 38, as well as coordinate network coverage forthe different access points 10, 48. This real time information can beused, for example, to control an HVAC system or to communicate the lightsource functionality of the access points 10, 48 to an installer or atechnician. In another non-limiting embodiment, multiple systems orapplications may use the determined climate characteristic value and/orinformation concurrently. For example, these systems or applications maybe in communication with the system controller 42, connected to thenetwork 14, or both. It should be noted, however, that the sensorcontrollers 22 in each access point 10(1)-10(N), 48(1)-48(M) maycommunicate with a separate environment controller 43. In thisalternative embodiment, the system controller 42 may provide a switchingor routing function to direct transmissions between the sensorcontrollers 22 (not shown) and the environment controller 43 via network14 or an alternative network.

In this regard, FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary simplified floorplan ofone of the plurality of floors 40 of the building 38 of FIG. 2. In thisexample, the floor 40 includes a common area 54 in which a plurality ofopen cubicles 56(1)-56(6) are arranged. In this example, the floor 40also includes a pair of closed offices 58(1) and 58(2). The accesspoints 10 are evenly distributed across the ceiling of the floor 40 inthis embodiment. It can be seen that the access points 10 may bepositioned and distributed such that each area of the floor 40 is withinrange of at least one access point 10. For example, in this embodiment,each cubicle 56 and each office 58 has at least one access point 10nearby. Thus, detailed and specific information about any number ofenvironmental characteristics 18 may be determined for a number ofdifferent specific locations within the floor 40.

It should be understood that the environmental sensor 16 is not requiredto be disposed within or otherwise attached to the housing 30 of theaccess point 10 to function properly. In this regard, FIG. 4 illustratesan access point 10′ according to an alternative embodiment, in which anenvironmental sensor 16′ is located inside a housing 30′ of the accesspoint 10′ and a second environmental sensor 60′ is disposed outside thehousing 30′. It should also be understood that the sensor controller 22′and the processor unit 15′ may be separate elements and may even beseparately connected to network 14′. In another embodiment, the sensorcontroller 22′ and the processor unit 15′ may be separately connected todifferent networks. As with FIG. 1, the environmental sensor 16′ of FIG.4 is connected to the sensor controller 22′ via a wired sensorconnection 32′. In this embodiment, also, the processor unit 15′ isseparately connected to the network 14′ by a separate wired connection36′ via network interface unit 13′, and the sensor controller 22′ isconnected to the network 14′ by a wired connection 34′ via networkinterface unit 65′. As with FIG. 1, however, it should be understoodthat one or more of the wired connections 32′, 34′, 36′, 62′ may besubstituted with wireless connections using radio transceivers asdesired. In this embodiment, the sensor controller 22′ is not separatefrom the network access transceiver module 19′ and is instead is pairedwith its own network interface unit 65′ as part of a standalone sensorcontroller module 67′.

The second environmental sensor 60′ of FIG. 4 may be the same or of adifferent type as environmental sensor 16′. In this embodiment, thesecond environmental sensor 60′ is connected to the sensor controller22′ via a wired sensor connection 62′, and may be similar to the wiredsensor connection 32′. The second environmental sensor 60′ is positionedto make an environmental measurement of a second environmentalcharacteristic 64′ of a distant object or area, which may be the distantobject 20 or may be another distant object 66′ or other area. In thisembodiment, for example, the second environmental sensor 60′ ispositioned outside the housing 30′ in order to have a larger detectionarea and/or line-of-sight, for example. In some embodiments as well, oneor both of the environmental sensors 16′, 60′ may be a multi-mode sensorthat is capable of determining environmental characteristic values formultiple environmental characteristics of different types. One or bothof the environmental sensors 16′, 60′ may also be shared among differentapplications in some embodiments. In this manner, multiple environmentalsensors 16′, 60′ may be included with a single access point 10′ to makeenvironmental measurements of different distant objects or areas.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an access point 10 according to theembodiment of FIG. 1. It should be understood, however, that thecomponents of FIG. 5 may be used with other embodiments herein as well.The access point 10 may comprise any computing or processing devicecapable of including firmware, hardware, and/or executing softwareinstructions to implement the functionality described herein, and whichis capable of being incorporated into components of the access points10, 10′, including, for example, the processor unit 15 and/or the sensorcontrollers 22, 22′. In this example, the access point 10 of FIG. 5includes the sensor controller 22 having a processor device 68, a systemmemory 70, and a system bus 72. The system bus 72 provides an interfacefor system components including, but not limited to, the system memory70 and the processor device 68. The processor device 68 can be anycommercially available or proprietary processor.

The system bus 72 may be any of several types of bus structures that mayfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and/or a local bus using any of a varietyof commercially available bus architectures. The system memory 70 mayinclude non-volatile memory 74 (e.g., read only memory (ROM), erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), etc.), and/or volatile memory 76(e.g., random-access memory (RAM)). A basic input/output system (BIOS)78 may be stored in the non-volatile memory 74 and can include the basicroutines that help to transfer the information between the elementswithin the access point 10.

The access point 10 may further include a computer-readable storagedevice 80, which may comprise, for example, internal solid state memory,or the like. The computer-readable storage device 80 may providenon-volatile storage of the data, the data structures, thecomputer-executable instructions, and the like. The data structures canstore historical sensor readings which identify the sensor which madethe measurement and a timestamp indicating the time the measurement wasmade. Computer-executable instructions may include pre-defined dataprocessing instructions, or downloaded instructions for data processingat a specified time or interval.

A number of modules can be stored in the computer-readable storagedevice 80 and/or in the volatile memory 76, including an operatingsystem 82 and one or more program modules 84, which may implement thefunctionality described herein in whole or in part.

In addition, the access point 10 may include additional components, suchas one or more environmental sensors 16, described in detail above, oneor more radio components 12, other types of sensors 86, and a display 88or other visual indicator interface. The components of the access point10 may interact with other components outside of the access point 10,such as a network 14 (not shown), via a network interface unit 13.

Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modificationsto the preferred embodiments of the disclosure. All such improvementsand modifications are considered within the scope of the conceptsdisclosed herein and the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network-connected access point comprising: anetwork access transceiver configured to provide access to acommunication network for one or more computing devices in communicationwith the network access transceiver; a sensor interface for connectingan environmental sensor located outside of a housing of thenetwork-connected access point; and a sensor controller in communicationwith the environmental sensor, the sensor controller configured to:receive at least one environmental characteristic value from theenvironmental sensor; and transmit information based on the at least oneenvironmental characteristic value to a monitoring system.
 2. Thenetwork-connected access point of claim 1, wherein the informationincludes location information corresponding to an installation locationof the network-connected access point.
 3. The network-connected accesspoint of claim 1, wherein the environmental sensor comprises an infraredor laser-based temperature sensor and the at least one environmentalcharacteristic is a temperature.
 4. The network-connected access pointof claim 1, wherein the at least one environmental characteristic is ahumidity.
 5. The network-connected access point of claim 1, wherein theat least one environmental characteristic is a sonic characteristic. 6.The network-connected access point of claim 5, wherein the soniccharacteristic is a sound of breaking glass.
 7. The network-connectedaccess point of claim 5, wherein the sonic characteristic is a sound ofa voice.
 8. The network-connected access point of claim 1, wherein theat least one environmental characteristic is an ambient lightcharacteristic.
 9. The network-connected access point of claim 8,wherein the ambient light characteristic is selected from a groupconsisting of a brightness, a color, an illumination pattern, and achange in the brightness, color or illumination pattern.
 10. Thenetwork-connected access point of claim 1, wherein the at least oneenvironmental characteristic is air pressure.
 11. The network-connectedaccess point of claim 1, wherein the at least one environmentalcharacteristic is an air quality characteristic.
 12. Thenetwork-connected access point of claim 11, wherein the air qualitycharacteristic is an air visibility level.
 13. The network-connectedaccess point of claim 11, wherein the air quality characteristic is apresence of smoke.
 14. The network-connected access point of claim 1,further comprising: a processor device; and a memory configured to storethe at least one environmental characteristic value.
 15. Thenetwork-connected access point of claim 1, wherein the sensor controlleris configured to determine the information based on the at least oneenvironmental characteristic value prior to transmitting the informationto the monitoring system.
 16. The network-connected access point ofclaim 1, wherein the environmental sensor is a plurality ofenvironmental sensors each configured to determine the at least oneenvironmental characteristic value corresponding to a differentenvironmental characteristic.
 17. The network-connected access point ofclaim 3, further comprising: the sensor controller configured to connectto a thermostat, wherein the sensor controller sends a signal to thethermostat to adjust temperature settings based on the temperature. 18.A network-connected access point system comprising: a system controller;and a plurality of network-connected access points in communication withthe system controller via a system network, each of the plurality ofnetwork-connected access points comprising: a network access transceiverconfigured to provide access to a data network for one or more computingdevices in communication with the network access transceiver; a sensorinterface for connecting an environmental sensor located outside of ahousing of the network-connected access point; and a sensor controllerin communication with the environmental sensor, the sensor controllerconfigured to: receive at least one environmental characteristic valuefrom the environmental sensor; and transmit information based on the atleast one environmental characteristic value to a monitoring system. 19.The network-connected access point system of claim 18, wherein theenvironmental sensor comprises an infrared or laser-based temperaturesensor and the at least one environmental characteristic is atemperature.
 20. The network-connected access point system of claim 19,further comprising: the sensor controller configured to connect to athermostat, wherein the sensor controller sends a signal to thethermostat to adjust temperature settings based on the temperature.